Hosting service

Sometimes you want to get up and running as quickly as possible or have the peace of mind of knowing there is an expert looking after your system.  Alternatively you might have an outsourced IT supplier and desperation has driven you to decide that the solution for you is to get us to host your server enabling you to have quick, easy and secure access over the Internet.

Whatever your reason we can help and the matrix below lays out the three typical hosting configurations we offer.  In keeping with the approach on the rest of the site we believe in being open and let you know about exactly what you will get from a hosting contract.

If you want to try our hosted service just let us know, we have a 'Small Team' configured server set up and ready for you to try.  We can provide you with a PROJECT in a box client and Manager licence which is a files only installer (if you have the .NET framework you won't need admin permissions) so you can try whenever you are ready.

Standard hosting arrangements

The following three arrangements have been sized to address the most common cases we are asked about, if you want something different from this then just let us know and we will work up a custom quote for you.  You can use these prices if you buy hosting and ask us to host the software for you.  Alternatively you can use the PIAB Office service with hosting and software included and pay for this monthly starting from just £12.50pppm (minimum conditions apply).

Notes on the above:

• prices exclude a PROJECT in a box server licence which will be required on the host server and should be specified as part of your normal PROJECT in a box software licences;

• prices exclude Enterprise Hub licences (only recommended on Large team or dedicated corporate licence);

• invoicable in full at the beginning of the year;

• no refunds available for part years unless otherwise agreed in writing;

• should you decide to bring your server into house we will provide assistance and guidance in this process at no extra cost.

PROJECT in a box Hosting SLA

Security

Data will be secured in transit over the Internet using TLS (SSL) encryption.  A secure certificate will be installed for this purpose. Connections to the hosted server can be limited using ACLs (Access Control Lists) to a range of IP Addresses provided by the customer if requested. If required, backup data can be encrypted using a customer-specific secret key when in storage.

Back ups

A schedule of backups will be provided.  Backups of the database, project documents and system files (e.g. templates) will be taken daily, and initially stored locally on the hosted server.  We will then use file transfer to regularly take copies of backups from the Internet hosted server to a local server.  This will ensure that backups are held in more than one physical location.  Encryption and electronic signatures can be provided if required to ensure confidentially and integrity (i.e. confidence of non-tampering) of the backups. Copies of backup files will be kept at the PROJECT in a box office servers and can be sent on removable media (e.g. DVD) to the customer on request.

Help and Response

PROJECT in a box will provide third line technical support.  We will provide a help phone line during normal UK office hours, will provide a response with diagnosis where practicable within 1 working day and will aim to fix critical issues within 2 working days. To ensure the integrity of the system, and maintain confidentiality of the customer’s data, PROJECT in a box support staff will liaise only with nominated individuals from the customer.

Application Response Times

The response times are likely to be dominated by the quality of the customer’s internet connection.  PROJECT in a box operates by checking documents in and out of the server and these will be traversing the Internet, so an estimate of typical document size will be useful in anticipating likely response time.  To optimise response times, the customer may elect to store some documents locally and provide shortcuts from PROJECT in a box. 

Analysis of Response Times

We will analyse response times using a benchmark set of document sizes/timings to assess the general system response, and attempt to diagnose specific cases using the actual documents used by the customer.

Estimate of Data storage Requirement

PROJECT in a box stores files in their native NTFS format - meaning that 1Gb of project files equates to 1Gb of storage requirement, plus a small overhead for the database that holds indexing information and some metadata.  Since PROJECT in a box holds a copy of each version of each file, if we estimate that each file has an average of 10 versions (i.e. 10 check-out, edit, check-in cycles) the final storage requirement might be 10Gb for each 1Gb of native project files.

Changes to customer desktop and network infrastructure

The customer will provide sufficient notice of desktop environment changes and changes to networking and firewall arrangements that could affect the service.  Recommended six months and one month respectively.  We will not be obliged to provide fixes for non-standard platforms or a heterogeneous mix of operating system services patch levels and program versions.  PROJECT in a box may work with non-Microsoft components but we do not support these configurations.

Server patching and anti virus

The server will be patched using Microsoft’s standard Automatic Updates system.  The server will be provided with Anti-Virus software of our choice that will be patched to the AV supplier’s standard schedule.

Data handover on termination of service contract

Transfer of data at the end of the contract will be done using the same backup mechanism as we propose to use routinely.